Blog hop

Welcome to Day 2 of Ruby’s Treasures Blog Hop!

If you haven’t had the chance, you really must read the chapters in Ruby McKim’s book One Hundred and One Patchwork Patterns. I own a copy of her book but hadn’t read it in years. It’s a trip back in time to a different cadence of speech as well as some glossary words and terms not in common use anymore. Border strips are torn, appliqué is sometimes called ‘laid on’ work, and seam allowances are variable to a certain degree, but still strongly recommended to be consistent. Ruby herself recommends a 3/16″ seam allowance! The advent of rotary cutting changed all that for us and, due to the demands of the process, we had to settle on a single standard size seam allowance.

So along with the blocks you’ll be seeing on the Blog Hop, please take a moment and travel back one hundred years and delve into our quilting legacy. It’s a fascinating read!

I chose the wonderful old block, Jack in the Box, because once upon a time I used it for a book project. It’s a pleasantly simple block to construct using our modern folded corner techniques.

The original version, as shown in Ruby’s book, has five equal-size grid patches across and down making it difficult to conform to a 12” finished size block. For example, if each patch is 2″, then the finished block will be 10″ (5 x 2). If each patch is 2 1/2″, then the finished block will be 12 1/2″ (5 x 2.5). So what to do………

The solution is simple; use 2 1/2″ finished sizes for all the grid patches except the center bars, which I assigned to 2″ finished size.

So here are the two blocks I made. Aren’t they sweet? I so admire the clarity of the colors in Barb’s Ruby’s Treasure fabrics.

Enough rambling……Let’s get onto the fun!

For each block I chose one main color family and an accent color. Within the main color family, I chose one darker print and one medium print. I used Paintbrush Studio’s rice paper cream solid for both blocks. By choosing two values in the same color family, you create a bit of a 3-D aspect to the corner patches. If those two prints were different colors of similar value, the blocks would look a bit different.

So for the pink and blue version, pink was my main color and blue the accent. One pink is darker than the other. For the green and yellow block, green is the main color with yellow as the accent. One green print is darker than the other.

Here’s the cutting for each block:

From the darker main color, cut:

4 rectangles, 3″ x 5 ½” (for striped rectangles)

1 square, 2 ½” x 2 ½” (for block center)

From the medium main color, cut:

4 rectangles, 3″ x 5 ½” (for flying geese)

From the accent color, cut:

4 rectangles, 2 ½” x 5 ½” (for block bars)

From the cream solid, cut:

16 squares, 3″ x 3″

Pieces for one block.

Now you’re ready to sew these pretty blocks together. The main skill required for making the block is the folded corner technique. It goes by many other names, depending on where you live, but the main idea is to sew a smaller square on the diagonal to the corner of a larger square or rectangle. When the square is folded over it creates a triangle on the corner.

1. Begin by drawing a diagonal line on the wrong side of all 16 cream squares. To do this well, place your fabric face down on a piece of super fine grit sandpaper so the fabric doesn’t shift when you’re drawing.

Be sure to use a fine line mechanical lead pencil and hold it at a 45° angle so it doesn’t catch in the weave of the fabric as you draw.

Place your ruler just a bit off from the corners, as much as necessary, so the pencil point and subsequent drawn lines will intersect the corners exactly. Draw your line. Repeat for all 16 squares.

Place a cream square on the corner of dark rectangle, orienting it as shown in the photo. It’s important for the corner to be facing toward the right of the sewing machine needle. Making sure it is perfectly lined up on the corner, stitch just to the right side of the drawn line. You don’t want to see space between the pencil line and the stitching but you don’t want the stitching to cover the pencil line. This is because the pencil line will actually be the fold of the fabric when it’s turned over the corner.

Flip the square over the corner to check for accuracy. If correct, trim the excess layers from behind the corner 1/4″ from the stitching. Press the seam over the corner. Save all your trimmed away triangle pairs for a little bonus project later!!

Trim excess lower layers 1/4″ from the seam.

Repeat the process on the opposite corner to make a striped rectangle. On the second folded corner, press the seam toward the rectangle not the corner. This is important so that seams will nest later on.

Using the same folded corner technique, sew a cream square to the corners of a medium rectangle to make 4 flying geese. Press the seams for these units toward the cream on both sides.

Sew a flying geese unit to a striped rectangle being sure to orient the striped rectangle with the seams flowing to the right as shown below. This is so the diagonal seam intersection where the rectangle and flying geese unit meet will nest, making a perfect point. Begin sewing from that end of the seam so the intersection is locked in first. Make 4 of these block patches.

Sew an accent rectangle to opposite sides of the block center as shown to make the block center row. Press seams to the rectangles.

Lay out the 4 block patches, the 2 remaining accent rectangles, and the center row as shown. Sew the patches into rows, pressing seams to the accent bars. Join the rows together to complete the block. Press the 2 final seams toward the center row.

Repeat steps 1-8 to make the second block.

Remember that bonus project I mentioned? Well, we have some perfectly good leftover triangle pairs that we can put to good use.

Sew them together into dark/light pairs along their long edges and press to the dark. Trim each to a nice neat 2″ square.

With the diagonal line of the ruler on the seam and the 2″ dimensions inside the two lower raw edges, trim the excess from the top two sides.

Turn the unit around and with the diagonal line of the ruler back on the seam and the 2″ measurements on the freshly trimmed edges, trim the remaining two sides.

You’ll end up with 16 half-square triangles units from each block, which can be sewn together to make 4 pinwheels. That’s a total of 8 pinwheels. You can make your pinwheels from the same print as I have or mix the prints up to make scrappy pinwheels.

To make a little quilt, cut side-setting and corner triangles from the rice paper cream solid.

2 squares, 3 ½” x 3 ½”. Cut each square once on the diagonal to make the 4 corner triangles for the quilt corners.

To make the quilt:

Sew four half-square triangle units together to make a pinwheel, nesting seams as you sew. Be careful to sew them each consistently in the same fashion so they all look the same. Press the seams in a counterclockwise direction, spreading the center where the seams meet as shown in the photo.

Sew the pinwheels into rows diagonally with the cream side-setting and corner triangles. Press seams alternately in and out from block to block in each row so the seams will nest where the row intersections meet.

Join the rows to complete the quilt center. Trim the edges of the quilt top to 1/4″ from the block corners.

Add borders as desired with any of the pretty Ruby’s Treasure prints you like best. You can see what I’m previewing……..

All done! Two blocks and one little bonus quilt to boot.

As for my giveaway, I’ll send signed copies of my newest books, Quiltmaking Essentials 1 and 2 to the winner.

Leave a comment here to enter my giveaway and let me know if you plan to make that little bonus project. Don’t forget, if you haven’t already been to the Inspired by Fabric blog, hop on over there, sign up to follow (if you don’t already) and leave a comment there as well– they’re giving away fat quarter bundles of Ruby’s Treasures!

Here’s the schedule for the rest of the hop. Stop by Barb’s blog each day as well, as she’ll be sharing more about Ruby and the fabric collection she inspired.

I love that block–it reminds me of a present that’s ready to be opened! I’d like to tell you that I’ll make the bonus project, but I’m afraid I’d be kidding you and me! I have started to save the left over HSTs, so who knows–maybe I will.

I always save the extra little HSTs to use in small projects like placemats, potholders, or mug rugs, so of course I’d make the small pinwheels – maybe a doll quilt for the great-grand girl. I like the design and colors of your blocks. Thanks for the tutorial!

I have made this block in the past. My fabric choices didn’t have the movement and the 3-d effect that your blocks have. I like the little project and I will make one. Thank you for the inspiration. I do follow Inspired by fabric, they have a great site and tons of tutorials.

Since I don’t like to waste fabric I have been saving bonus triangle units and using them. When I made a quilt for my new granddaughter I saved the bonus triangles and made little pinwheel blocks and made a window valence for her bedroom.

I like the way you adapted that block to 12″. So easy and pretty painless. I almost always save those bonus half-square triangles and have a box waiting for me to get creative. Thanks for the thoughts about how to use them.

I have wanted to make the Jack in the Box block and just have not taken the time to do so. After reading your tutorial and seeing the beautiful fabrics used, I know this is going to be made as a quilt for a dear friend. I hate wasting any part of the fabric and have a small pile of half square triangles made just as you have described and when I have enough, I will be using them for a quilt project, I think yours is a great one to follow! Thank you for sharing and for this spectacular give away of two of your books! Have a fantastic creative day!